What is certain is that his own party is making it difficult for him to ride this storm since they’re pulling funding and calling on him to drop out “for the good of the party.”

Now take a look at the Real Clear Average of the Presidential race where Mitt Romney is trailing President Barack Obama by 2.5 points. I don’t hear anybody (other than Ron Paul supporters) calling on him to “drop out for the good of the party.” His bump even after selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate was minimal.

My point is this. If you want Todd Akin to step down because of his comments – which he has since apologized for – then fine. If you want him to step down because you think he might lose well then you’re being inconsistent. Romney’s changes of losing are actually worse looking at InTrade compared to Todd Akin’s.

Polls are fluid. Akin’s comments, while regrettable, are hardly impossible to overcome. Putting a new candidate in at this stage will be extremely difficult so there are zero guarantees with that move as well. Calling for him to step down because you think he’s going to lose could very well guarantee a victory for Senator McCaskill as well.

Either call for him to step down on principle or not at all.

HT: Steve Deace via Facebook

Update: I want to share a couple of examples of principled calls for Akin to step down.

When you run for office on a pro-life platform, especially as a male, you need to prepare for the ‘abortion in the case of rape question.’ During his Presidential campaign, Rick Santorum gave the model response: "the rape isn’t the baby’s fault." You then direct follow up questions to James Robison. Todd Akin, by contrast, gave a meandering answer about ‘legitimate rape’ (whatever that is) and the likelihood of conception. By falling into such a predictable trap, I worry about what trap Akin falls into next.

Todd Akin allowed irrelevant contingencies to distract from the question of murdering unborn children. Claire McCaskill, like all Democrats, needs to be hammered on this issue. Unfortunately, I no longer trust Todd Akin to competently challenge her on this, or any, issue.

I can respect that. It is thoughtful unlike most of the kneejerk reactions we saw from the GOP establishment. The second response was from Michelle Malkin:

The cringe-worthiest part of his statement is this: “…the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

I understand the outrage many of my friends and fellow conservatives feel about the double standards the Right faces when it comes to media/political treatment of other politicians’ stupidity (looking at you, Bozo the VP). But the question Akin faced wasn’t some obscure, gotcha question. It was basic abortion politics 101. His statement about the remarks issued yesterday doesn’t even acknowledge the worst part of his botched answer.

GOP candidates in critical races that could swing the balance of the U.S. Senate ought to be ready for prime time. Period. (emphasis mine)

Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts. He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm. Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in. Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

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About Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts. He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm. Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in. Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

Comments

Here are the parts you are missing Shane. (1) The NRSC and Crossroads have both pulled out. This means millions of dollars in attack ads will now go unanswered because no one is going to back Akin up. (2) Leading 44-43 right now is not good. This story will take more than one day to penetrate and the RCP average means nothing right now because there is only one poll taken after the fact. The polls prior to this event mean nothing. Look at George Allen in 2006 as an example. He was up by around 20 points. After getting beaten to the ground in attack ads, the race swung the Democrats way.

Putting a new candidate in would put us back to a strong Republican advantage. The fact that this is currently a draw is not good for Republicans.

You’re probably right, but that really isn’t my main point. Do we ask a legitimate primary winner to step down because he can’t win or because of principles. Also the GOP, NRSC, and Crossroads are working toward a self-fulfilling prophesy. He if loses they do have some culpability.